Apple's Basingstoke store will close on November 21, MacRumors reports

Apple has set a date for the closure of its Festival Place store in Basingstoke, England: the shop will close permanently on Saturday, November 21, according to MacRumors. Apple had previously said the store would shut in November but had not named a day until now.

The Basingstoke location opened in 2011, giving it roughly 15 years of trading in the Festival Place shopping centre. Apple has not publicly given a reason for the closure. MacRumors suggests the company is consolidating its local retail presence around its store in Reading, about 15 miles away.

That store, Apple The Oracle, is the main alternative for customers in the area. Apple plans to open a redesigned version of it in December, with a more modern look, a more accessible Genius Bar and a dedicated Apple Pickup area for online orders, MacRumors reports. The move was first covered in August, when the closure of the Basingstoke shop was linked to the Reading store's relocation and expansion.

As for staff, Apple told The Reading Chronicle in August that all Festival Place employees would be able to work at Apple The Oracle or at other Apple Store locations in the United Kingdom. Apple has not announced any other details about how the transition will work for customers with existing repairs or orders at Basingstoke.

For shoppers, the practical advice is simple: anyone with a pending service appointment, repair or pickup at Festival Place should check the arrangements through Apple's website or the Apple Store app before the November 21 closing date. Apple's online store and other UK locations remain unaffected.

The closure is a small change in Apple's UK footprint rather than a retreat from the market, since the Reading store is being enlarged and modernised in the same period. Apple has periodically relocated or consolidated stores worldwide, opening new locations in nearby shopping centres while closing older ones.

Cupertino News will update this story if Apple shares more information about the Basingstoke closure or the timing of the redesigned Reading store.